Environment Florida, Sierra Club v. Pilgrim's Pride Corp.

[Jacksonville, FL] – Environment Florida announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in Jacksonville against the second-largest chicken producer in the world, Pilgrim’s Pride, for alleged ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act at its poultry processing plant in Live Oak, Florida.

Filed in court today, the complaint alleges that the company has committed 1,377 days of Clean Water Act violations since 2012, by discharging wastewater that exceeds pollution standards by as much as triple the legal limits. The lawsuit is a major step towards restoring the health of the Suwannee River.

"Here is one of the world's largest meat companies continually dumping pollution into one of Florida's most beautiful rivers," said Jennifer Rubiello, State Director of Environment Florida. "If our own state officials won't step in and protect the Suwannee, then Environment Florida will."

Pilgrim Pride’s pollution contributes to low dissolved oxygen levels and toxic algal blooms, which are serious environmental problems plaguing the Suwannee and other Florida waterways. Moreover, some of Pilgrims’ alleged violations are for toxicity – meaning they can disrupt the survival, growth, and reproduction of aquatic organisms.

The middle Suwannee River is famous for its 62 freshwater springs, is home to several state parks, and is part of the Florida Trail and the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, a paddling route with river camp locations which receives over 43,000 visitors a year. The area is very popular with hikers, fishermen, and boaters. The Suwannee River State Park, near the processing plant’s pollution discharge point, is home to some of the best backcountry paddling in the state and welcomes more than 35,000 visitors yearly.

Sierra Club has also given formal notice of intent to sue Pilgrim’s Pride, and will join as a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit after the 60-day waiting period mandated by the Clean Water Act.

“The Suwannee River is one of Florida’s jewels,” said Whitey Markle, a longtime member of the Suwannee-St. John’s Group of the Sierra Club. “It is essential that we preserve this valuable river for the enjoyment of all Florida citizens and visitors to the Sunshine State.”

In fact, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has designated the Suwannee River as one of Florida’s 41 “Special Waters” (a water of exceptional recreational or ecological significance) within the category of Outstanding Florida Waters.

“As a biologist, I research the springs of the Suwannee River, and as a nature lover I lead canoe trips on the Suwannee, so it is clear to me that any harm to this special natural resource is shameful,” said Bob Knight, Environment Florida member and President of the Board at the Florida Springs Institute. “I want to be able to take my grandchildren paddling down the Suwannee with me, which means any further pollution needs to stop.”

The allegations in the lawsuit only address discharges that allegedly violate Pilgrim’s Pride’s permit. But the total pollution from Live Oak facility is much larger: the company dumped 379,641 pounds of toxic pollution into the Suwanee River in 2014, according to data from U.S EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory.

Such dumping fits into a broader pattern of pollution by Pilgrims’ Pride and its parent company, the Brazilian-based meat giant JBS. Last summer, Environment America – of which Environment Florida is a state affiliate – published a national report documenting water pollution by major agribusiness firms. According to the Environment America report, JBS’ supply chain in the U.S. generate 45 million tons of manure, and its processing plants (including this Pilgrim’s one in Florida) dumped more than 37 million pounds of toxic pollution into waterways from 2010 to 2014.

Environment Florida’s complaint seeks a federal court order requiring the Live Oak facility to comply with its Clean Water Act permit, as well as civil penalties against Pilgrim’s Pride to punish it for past violations and to deter future violations.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has operations in 14 states, Mexico, and Puerto Rico and is a supplier to KFC, Wal-Mart, Publix, and Wendy's and generated a revenue of $7.9 billion in 2016. The Live Oak facility processes live poultry into fresh and frozen chicken meat products, and operates a broiler hatchery to produce chicks for distribution to growers. Pilgrim’s Pride is part of Brazilian company JBS S.A., the largest meat company by sales in the world.

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Environment Florida is a citizen-based, non-profit, environmental advocacy organization that promotes clean air, clean water, and open space protection. The organization is the state affiliate of Environment America. For more information, visit www.EnvironmentFlorida.org

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

The groups are represented by the Boston-based, non-profit National Environmental Law Center (NELC), which litigates on behalf of citizen groups across the country to enforce the nation’s environmental laws, and by Newton, Massachusetts-based attorney David A. Nicholas and Jacksonville, Florida attorney Andrew Bonderud.